It’s summertime, the season of enormous films with huge stars and monstrous budgets. The multiplexes are so jammed up with superheroes, zombies and exploding robots that there’s almost no room for real people and the problems that plague them.

Enter “The Lesser Blessed,” a Canadian coming-of-age story that is opening at the Digital Gym, the new theater in North Park. This is a very small film, and though Benjamin Bratt provides a bit of star power, most of the cast, especially the lead, is made up of young actors unfamiliar to most American audiences.

When we first meet Larry Sole (Joel Evans), he’s in the tub, which is not as relaxing as one would hope. In the film’s first moments, we see that his back and chest are covered in scar tissue, and shortly afterward, when he informs the viewers via voice-over that he’s lived in his current town since his accident, we have no problem understanding why he’s an outcast. He’s quiet and gangly, a lone metalhead First Nations kid trying to find his way in a mostly white school in Canada’s Northwest Territories. He pines for the gorgeous Juliet (Chloe Rose) while trying to avoid Darcy (Adam Butcher), the school’s bully with whom he has history.

Things start to look up, though, when another First Nations kid, Johnny (Kiowa Gordon, a heartthrob in the making with “Twilight” credits on his résumé) shows up. He’s good-looking and tough, and when he befriends Larry the lonely teen finally feels a bit of worthiness. The downside, of course, is that he also hooks up with Juliet, and though the three of them become tight, Larry is still on the outside looking in. Still, he’s good with what he’s got, until his past catches up with him and he’s forced to confront his scars, both physical and emotional.

There’s a lot in “The Lesser Blessed” that you’ve seen before — it is a coming-of-age story, after all — but the emotions present in Anita Doron’s film still feel fresh and universal, even if some of the dialogue is clunky. The young cast is talented (even if their characters are set in a world where teens have yet to discover texting), and Evans is a great choice to play Larry. He’s a newcomer to acting and looks far more like a sidekick or supporting player than a leading man. The pain he carries in his dark brown eyes is deep, but he’s also got a playful side to him that’s unexpected and welcome.

It’s not a perfect film, but “The Lesser Blessed” does make for a nice antidote for the summertime multiplex blues.

Anders Wright reviews movies for U-T San Diego. Email him at anderswright@gmail.com.